Mercedes non-executive chairman Niki Lauda revealed that the German squad held talks with Sebastian Vettel earlier this year.

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The current leader of the world championship has renewed his allegiance to Ferrari, extending his stay at Maranello for three more years, a deal which did not surprise Lauda. 

“We discussed it briefly once with him, but the more competitive Ferrari goes the less the reason he would want to leave,” Lauda told Sky after this morning’s free practice session.

“So therefore we stopped right away a couple of months ago.”

• Vettel gets three more years with Ferrari!

Lauda suggested the discussions, which did not bear fruit, were perhaps a reflection of Vettel’s will to galvanize his employer’s engagement for 2018.

“I think every driver, if he’s clever, talks to more than one team. Then when you negotiate you’re in a better position. That’s what he did.”

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